Tech stuff related to making games

November 29, 2016

Technology Radar

Do you find yourself seeing lots of new technology getting released? Do you wonder if you should learn it? Do you worry about too many new things getting released and wanting to keep abreast and up to date with it all?

I have found a solution for you! The solution that will help you is a Technology Radar.
I first saw a technology radar at my previous employer, used by the Tools team. My first impression was clarity; I was able to see what was going on at first sight. Now I did not fully grasp the usefulness of this methodology until more recently when I started encountering lots of new technology professionally and personally. How could I mentally keep all this knowledge and not drive myself crazy!

My first investigation took me to a blog post by Neal Ford (Build Your Own Technology Radar). Definitely worth a read, and a much more rounded explanation of the origin. Neal works for ThoughtWorks a technology company that advises on the future of development (ThoughtWorks)

So how can you create your own technology radar? You can old school and write it down on paper, or on a whiteboard. Or you can generate a webpage for yourself where you can maintain a digital copy easily. There are many examples on Github (here, here and here) which effectively are differences on presentation.

Once I get my version completed, I will get it up on the site to show what areas of technology and development I have on my radar.